The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ (AFCC) Board of Directors recently endorsed the Child Protection Mediation (CPM) Model Mediator Competencies. Inspired by the AFCC’s Guidelines for Child Protection Mediation, the competencies were developed by a CPM Model Mediator Competencies Workgroup after the group reviewed a chapter in the Guidelines on “Mediator Recruitment and Training.” The workgroup was comprised of a variety of CPM practitioners including: Laura Bassein, JD; Kelly Browe Olson, JD; Gregory Firestone, PhD; Marilou Giovannucci, MS; and Susan Storcel, JD.
The competencies take a thorough look at CPM and identify the various knowledge, skills, and abilities that effective CPM mediators should have. Some of the subjects addressed include communication skills, ethics, diversity issues, self-determination and domestic violence issues. Court programs and mediators may utilize these competencies to further their understanding of what CPM programs should expect their mediators to know and may be used as a basis for training, personal development, mentoring, and evaluation.
